Have Gun, Will Travel
by rayrae118
Summary: Danny's met cops like Steve before. Guys who charge in without thinking, putting their own safety and the safety of everyone else in danger. And for months, that's as far as his thought process goes. It all makes sense in his mind. Until one day, it doesn't


**This idea came to me as I was driving to work. And then I basically wrote the entire thing in my head as I was driving home. But since my memory's not perfect, I couldn't remember all of it when I finally got to my computer, so this is sort of like a second draft, but maybe not as good as the original. So of course, as soon as I got home, I popped in my Hawaii Five-0 season one DVD, and started writing! Hope you like!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

The thing is, Danny's met guys like Steve before. _Cops_ like Steve before. People who think they're so smart, so good, that they can charge into dangerous situations, with no thought for their own safety, or the safety of others, and simply went in, Rambo style, just because they could.

He's certain his crazy partner is going to get someone killed, and unfortunately, he knows the probability of it being him is rather high. But he puts up with it, moaning and groaning, because for once, since he came to this pineapple-infested hellhole, he's not being looked at like something akin to the dust beneath his shoes while at work. Being a ha'i'ole doesn't matter at Five-0. What matters is that he can do the job well.

He deals with dangling people off rooftops, and throwing them in shark cages, and using grenades as lock picks, and he deals with elevated blood pressure, and a significant decrease in life expectancy.

For months and months of big cases, dangerous criminals, and hazardous partners, that's as far as his thought process goes. And it all makes sense in his mind.

Until one day, it doesn't.

It was just supposed to be a routine bust. And that alone should have set off warning bells in Danny's mind, because when has anything ever been that easy?

When the dust settles, they have three seriously injured cops, four dead bad guys, at least six more perps injured, and two, plus their hostages, missing.

The Five-0 team meets back up once all the criminals are rounded up, looking slightly worse for the wear, but at least they're all standing. Steve's got some blood running down the side of his face, and his expression is as deadly calm as Danny's ever seen. For a few moments, he leaves it at that. He had been too distracted during the fight to keep an eye on his partner, but he does remember Rambo getting into it with several of the more muscled felons.

Apparently, Kono was paying more attention, because she looks at him with more concern in her eyes than he can ever remember her showing.

"You OK, boss?" she asks, taking a half step forward, before stopping herself.

Danny furrows his brow at her query, and takes a closer look at his partner. While some of the blood can be explained away as blood splatter from a criminal, there is a good deal of it running from a large gash above his right eyebrow that will most definitely require stitches. There is a large concentration of blood congregating around his left shoulder, and his posture seems hunched over, ever so slightly. He seems to be putting most of his weight on his right leg.

In that instant, Danny feels concern. He is slightly surprised by the emotions pooling in his gut. He has felt concern before, but never over his partner's health. Usually, it's over his own, concerning his partner's tactics.

He opens his mouth, perhaps to voice something along the lines of how he's taking Steve to the paramedics, who will get him to the hospital, and he is not to set foot inside HQ for at least a week, but Steve gets there first. His reply is a simple "I'm fine," but it does nothing to belay the feeling of worry rising up inside him.

Steve sounds firm and resolved, like he doesn't expect anyone to second-guess him. probably because he doesn't. Danny recognizes that tone: it's his Commander tone. He's a leader now, and there's no time for hesitation. They still have hostages to rescue.

Besides, Steve leads them all over to the medics to get cleared, so he figures if something is seriously wrong, he'll go to the hospital anyway.

Danny tries to keep an eye on Steve as he gets checked out, but they're too far away for him to hear every word. He thinks he catches the words 'flesh wound', but he can't be certain. He definitely sees something like an argument between Steve and the paramedic, but when the medic deflates slightly, he knows Steve won. And all he can think in that moment is _crap_.

He's cleared, as are Chin and Kono. Steve meets up with them a minute later, and Danny, critically assessing his partner, sees a slight bulge on his shoulder, which indicates bandages. He still looks resolved, and Danny knows Steve won't get himself checked out until their case is over. So all he can hope is that the big lug doesn't drop until they find their hostages.

…..

They find the two remaining criminals, along with the three victims, whom they send back to their families safe and sound. It's over, and, ironically enough, they end up at the hospital so that the hostages can get checked out. As soon as the last one leaves with his family, Steve sags slightly, leaning back against the wall as his mask drops minutely. All of a sudden, he looks _tired_, and all Danny can think now is _fuck_.

He's never realized just how good Steve is at acting before now.

"Steve?"

Apparently, Kono saw it too, and her hesitant query draws Chin's attention to their boss. He quickly waves over a doctor, who escorts Steve to an empty bed in the ER, his team following closely behind.

When Steve tries to brush them off, the doctor gets firm, and insists that he remove his shirt.

Chin lets out a low whistle at the tapestry of bruises that are revealed. They cover most of his upper torso, and all Danny sees is an injury that should have been looked at hours ago.

His shoulder is covered by a blood soaked bandage, yet another injury that should not have been ignored.

The doctor feels the area covered by bruising lightly, and Danny sees Steve holding in a wince.

"At least four broken ribs," the doctor comments, raising an eyebrow, because in his experience, people aren't usually walking around much with an injury of that magnitude. He peels back the bandage, and the eyebrow climbs higher. "Gunshot wound. Through and through?"

Steve nods slightly, and the doctor gets back to work. He calls for a nurse, and together, they get Danny's crazy partner to consent to be given a thorough check over. It's not really much of a chore though, Danny realizes with dread.

He, Chin, and Kono get shuffled to the waiting room, where they spend the better part of three hours pacing and worrying. Finally, the doctor is back, and bringing them to Steve's room, where he is annoyingly awake, propped up in a bed that he will no doubt vacate the moment he gets an opportunity, and screw what the doctors say.

He listens to the doctor explain the litany of injuries – _four broken ribs, three more fractured, gunshot wound to the shoulder, minor concussion, nine stitches, fractured knee_ – with alarm, because what the hell?

And the doctor echoes his thoughts, as he finishes with the comment, "Honestly Commander, I'm not sure how you remained upright as long as you did."

Steve simply stares back calmly, and replies, "I'm a SEAL."

That's it. In Steve's mind, it's as simple as that. And maybe it is that simple. Because Steve is a SEAL.

And all of a sudden, Danny's whole outlook changes. As he stares at his partner, sitting in a hospital bed as if he hadn't just gone three hours with a slew of injuries that individually would have dropped anyone else. But Steve is a SEAL. He's trained to ignore pain. He's trained to get the job done, no matter what. And once it was over, once they had rescued the hostages and arrested all the criminals, only then did he allow himself to drop.

He no longer sees Rambo, a crazy partner who leaps before looking, who dives in headfirst without thinking about his safety or the safety of anyone else. Because Steve's not a cop. He's a SEAL. He's trained to, first and foremost, complete the mission. And he dives in headfirst not because he's cocky or a daredevil, but because he's good. He's sure of his abilities, but he also has the skills to back them up.

Danny realizes that Steve may sometimes forget that he's no longer in the Navy. He still acts like a SEAL. He charges in, but he always acts like there's no doubt his back up is there, right behind him. And Danny always is, even if he doesn't like it. But that's the way SEAL's are: they work as a team, and they trust each other to be there, to know what the other is thinking, and to, above all, complete the mission.

Steve's oath to protect and serve is everything to him. He swore to serve his country, and transferring to the reserves doesn't change that. He will protect _his_ island to the best of his ability, and the difference is, now Danny can see just how much safer Hawaii is, because of Steve's ability. It's no longer crazy in his mind.

So when Steve says he's a SEAL, like it explains everything, Danny thinks it just might.

_Quite a departure from my usual form of writing, but it came out like that, and I think it works, so I didn't try to force it into something else._

_Please review!_


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